Ed Clark Museum of Missouri Geology in Rolla

Minerals, rocks, fossils, mammoth
tusks, maps
and more!

Self-guided tours are available to the public weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free! We are closed state and federal holidays. We are located at 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla. While here, be sure to pick up some of our free literature. We also sell Missouri geologic and topographic maps, along with a variety of technical and general-interest maps, publications, books and rock and mineral sets at our sales counter in the Buehler Building, located in Rolla at 111 Fairgrounds Road. You also can order and purchase items from The Missouri Geology Store, which is online, 24/7.

Take I-44 Exit 184 and continue through both roundabouts to Kingshighway. Turn left on to Fairgrounds Road (will pass Buehler Park). We are located just beyond the park and car wash, across from the automobile dealership.

See a replica of the Official Missouri Dinosaur and bones

Hypsibema missouriensis. Hypsibema missouriensis was first discovered in 1942 when Dan Stewart, one of our geologists was working near the town of Glen Allen in Bollinger County. Dan was investigating clay deposits in the area when a local family told him about clay they had encountered in a recently dug well. When Dan arrived at the location, he was shown several bones that had been found in the clay. These bones were sold to the Smithsonian but it was not until the 1980s that the dinosaur was correctly identified as a hadrosaur or “duck billed” dinosaur. The herbivore (a plant eating dinosaur)had jaws that contained more than 1,000 teeth. Hypsibema had evolved specialized teeth to handle the tough, fibrous vegetation of the time. Hypsibema lived in Missouri during the late Cretaceous period around 75 million years ago and became the state’s official dinosaur on July 9, 2004. Learn more about the official state dinosaur from the Bollinger County Museum of Natural History website. Other state symbols may be found on the Secretary of State’s website. Read more about the official state dinosaur and other state symbols in our Missouri Resources Magazine.

Questions about rocks?

Send questions to us (askageologist@dnr.mo.gov) about Missouri geology. If you found a rock or mineral that you would like to have identified, be sure to include a photo of your find.